f150

Who doesn't love a good comeback? Rocky, Hoosiers, Robert Downey Jr., and Lindsey Lohan (kind of) are all prime examples of what makes the comeback story so compelling. The theme behind any good comeback is perseverance - not giving in to the will to stop.

Unrelenting perseverance will lead to beating seemingly impossible odds. It's what led the 2005 Liverpool soccer team to beat the heavily favored AC Milan squad in penalties, and the 1993 Buffalo Bills to defeat the Houston Oilers from 32 points down, overcoming the largest point deficit in the NFL to date. Without perseverance, you won't go very far in whatever it is you do. Our engineers take this idea quite seriously at our R&D headquarters, and while the catch can project for this 2015+ Ford F-150 EcoBoost has been stalled for some time, it never really went away. There have been interesting challenges to get around during our R&D, but we finally have something you're going to love.

Tough Times with the 3.5L

There were a few hurdles

Many of you have been asking about the status of this project, and I have concrete information and data for you to look over as you make your decision on an intercooler for summer 2017. In the last update (which, I know was a while ago), we left you with what the final design of the core looked like, complete with renders and studio shots of the physical production sample.

The project's lead engineer knows that any intercooler design should be able to live up to the demanding performance these trucks require during, off-road or work use, daily driving, and even towing vehicles. Our engineer tested three cores, all with slightly different design aspects, so our R&D bases would be covered. Each core consisted of a bar-and-plate construction, as they are much stronger by design and go with the tough theme of these trucks.

The core we decided to go with gave us a 77% increase in core volume and a 163% increase in external fin surface area - not a mild improvement by any means. The ability for

We have had some radio silence with this F150 catch can project, but we now have some updates that we are ready to spill! This has been an interesting project from the beginning. The bulk of time has mainly consisted of road testing; we've logged thousands of miles so far, and every single mile counts.

Let's backtrack a bit. When we began this project, we intended to see what a dual-can setup would accomplish. In the last update we explained the benefit of having a catch can as part of both the PCV and CCV systems. Also, our engineer, Dan, was in the process of creating a mounting bracket for the cans and getting ready for some road testing. Our prototype looked great, and the hoses were neatly situated to allow the engine cover to stay in place.

Mounted Ford F150 EcoBoost catch can prototype!

Mounted Ford F150 EcoBoost catch can prototype!

Routing of some of the lines

The 3.5L

On to road testing! When we make a catch can for any vehicle, road testing allows us to be sure that no codes

Having already obtained precise dimensions from the factory piping and our test vehicle, our engineering team has begun the arduous, but rewarding process of developing and fabricating intercooler piping for our '11-14 F-150.

Cold-Side Intercooler Pipe Fabrication

Fabricating the cold side appears to be less of a challenge than dealing with the hot side, so we decided to start there to get the ball rolling. Following the path of the factory piping, we began fabrication at the intercooler side of the pipe and worked our way up toward the throttle body.

Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication

Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication

Obtaining the perfect angle required some trial and error, as well as repeated test fitting - as you might imagine, the path of this piping is precise, and we need to be highly accurate in order to ensure fitment will be good among all of the trucks on the road.

After having finished the first portion of our two-piece cold-side pipe, we

We have begun developing a catch can system for the 2015+ Ford F150 EcoBoost! This project, although small (in components), could have a significant impact on the F150 EcoBoost market. Why? There are not many direct-fit options, and there are a lot of these trucks out there. Oil blow-by can be pretty serious, especially on turbo applications, and this truck is twin turbocharged! Nonetheless, many gearheads tend to question the merits of using a catch can. So before we go any further, let's briefly explain what a catch can actually does and why it's so beneficial!

Port vs. Direct Injection

With port-injected engines, the fuel injectors are inside the intake manifold and produce the fuel stream that mixes with the air. This mixture is shot into the combustion chamber, right past the valve area, helping to keep the valves clean and free of deposits. We all know that fuel is a great solvent.

Modern, direct-injected engines have a different approach. The injector is inside the combustion chamber,

Along with creating an awesome intercooler for the EcoBoost (EB), we also want to improve upon the pathways through which air travels to and from the charge air cooler. This will involve replacing factory components that route from the turbocharger to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the throttle body with engineered aluminum pieces.

Factory Ford F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler Piping

The factory piping setup on the F-150 is essentially a rat's nest of molded plastic and rubber couplers that, evident upon removal, is complemented by an internal coating of oil. No wonder catch cans are so popular for these trucks!

Our engineers felt like teenagers again with all of the oil on their skin as they removed the piping in order to inspect each piece, keeping in mind that they would need to replicate all connection points to ensure that our piping is a bolt-on setup.

Check out the cold-side pipe, below.

Factory F-150 intercooler piping

This pipe routes from the single intercooler outlet up

Now that our first prototype design has been finalized in Solidworks, we can begin constructing our first functional prototype to test both performance and fitment.

Let's check out some of the final features of our awesome intercooler design, including the appearance, the updated bracketry, the piping, and our innovative solution to the condensation issue!

F-150 Intercooler 3D Models

We intend to offer this cooler in both a silver and black powdercoat finish, so we will show you a few render images of each. First, a look at the rear of the cooler.

Mishimoto Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler prototype

Here we see the two inlets and single quick-disconnect outlet. We also incorporated the blow-off valve port, and a cap/plug will be included for 2013-2014 models that feature the pipe-mounted unit.

Mishimoto Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler prototype

The two wings on the end tanks are the mounting points that secure the cooler to the chassis.

Mishimoto Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler prototype

In our last entry, we finished the 3D-printing process for our first prototype intercooler. Our team then started the tedious work of modeling all the features we plan to implement and finalizing the details of our intercooler design. During this process, a new idea emerged that would both improve the performance of our cooler and set our kit apart from others.

Let's dive right in!

F-150 Intercooler Shrouding Fabrication

The footprint of our intercooler core is far larger than that of the stock intercooler. Because of this, it is likely that the airflow supplied by the stock bumper duct is not reaching the entire surface area of our cooler. To combat any issues with loss of airflow, we decided to experiment with some ducting to direct air through the core.

We began the fabrication process with a few old-school techniques; our engineers broke out the template material and a measuring device and started cutting out some ideas.

Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler ducting fabrication

The trial-and-error

When we last had our test vehicle in the shop, the team fully evaluated the stock intercooler and piping system. In addition, we started to determine our projected core size and mocked up a foam prototype. In this segment, we will be expanding upon that by creating a mock-up prototype to test fitment.

3D-Printing Prototype

Using our mock-up foam core dimensions and data from the factory intercooler, our team began to construct the end tanks using 3D-modeling software. To confirm fitment, each section was 3D printed to create a prototype that could be placed in the vehicle.

This process required some trial and error to ensure that the 3D model was as accurate as possible. The inlet/outlet portions were the most challenging, so these were printed and tested first.

3D-printed F-150 EcoBoost intercooler

Once the primary portions of the tanks were confirmed, we printed all the pieces and mocked them into place on the prototype cooler.

3D-printed F-150 EcoBoost intercooler

We've incorporated

After taking a brief look at the factory cooler and components, we needed to begin the design for our counterpart. This will involve the use of both modern and conventional tools to ensure that our prototype meets all our requirements.

Factory Intercooler Features

Factory F150 intercooler

The factory intercooler pulled from our test vehicle came with the upper shroud that Ford had added to help prevent condensation issues. It also included a couple mounting pegs which use grommets for isolation.

Factory F150 intercooler

The rear of the cooler reveals two inlets, one outlet, and the electronic bypass valve (BPV) unit found on the 2013 and 2014 models.

Factory F150 intercooler

We removed the BPV unit and inspected the connection point. We would need to replicate this with our design to provide bolt-on fitment.

Factory F150 intercooler bypass valve

On this cooler, the two inlets are a simple push-on and clamp-style connection. The outlet is a quick-disconnect. We will be emulating this connection